19 February 2013

Amboseli is a lovely little park at the foot of Kilimanjaro (which is in Tanzania by the way, not in Kenya as claimed by some crooks). The wildlife out there is made of the usual suspects but on a good day the view of nearby Kili is breathtaking. These minibuses are numerous and some of these drivers are totally clueless: they leave the engine running while watching wildlife a few meters away!! You’d never see that in Tanzania.

6 am, time to leave camp and enjoy the early light in the mist.

That’s what I mean with a nearby Kilimanjaro. The atmospheric veil helped to catch the orange light on the peak and the clouds.

This is a close up view of the secondary peak

These guys, grey-headed kingfishers, were quite easy to spot and come close, like 5 meters away.

the area is made of swamps and it is quite easy to include animals in line with Kili. Providing the conditions are good of course.

02 February 2013

The road used to be awful but has just been resurfaced last year. So the trip is now smooth, for now as cracks on the surface already appear. Thanks to Chinese quality… The scenery is pleasant but the real show happens nearby villages and towns. I always check the names on shops, bars, hotels etc. Originality and the no fear no shame concept are common. I’m sure diplomats would love this place.

Karine loves to drive herself, so I just keep my camera handy and snaps away.

The Kenyan cops could be nicknamed Starsky and Hutch...for the age of their cars. This is a picture from last week but that venerable Peugeot 504, station-wagon, has been on the roads for much longer. Kenya used to manufacture various Peugeot models under license after Peugeot stopped the by-then current model. So this one must be from 1980?

How many 20 liter containers on this cart? This man doesn’t need a gym membership.

A mentally challenged woman, she was behaving strange on that main road.

Elections in Kenya are planned for the 4th March. Let’s hope we will not witness the same violence as in 2007.

Masai man in white sneakers watching life goes by.

At the border post, Namanga, that’s where the show is. Seriously I could spend hours there just watching. Various business places, various people like Somalis, a lot of activity, bright colors hardly cover the poverty. I’ll make a special post on Namanga soon.

More names: why beehive for this highly 'hygienic' butchery? Another common scenery: those carcasses hanging on a hook. We also were so sad to miss a chance to sip a cup of tea in that lovely tea room.

We spotted 2 of these cyclist within a week, on the same road. I was a bit drooling, remembering my own bicycle trip from Arusha to Cape Town some 10 years ago. My bike looked like this one but I was not sporting the same funny outfit. The face was entirely covered too, maybe a Japanese biker, but we think it was a she. And alone on the road.

The second biker was cycling on a dirt track towards Amboseli park, very isolated so we stopped for a chat, gave him water, a newer map of East Africa, some fruit. We were heading to a nice lodge, he was planning to camp under the starry night. We could give away our reserve.

21 January 2013

Karine and I went for a few days in Nairobi and Amboseli National Park. A tiny park on the edge of Mt Kilimanjaro which allows a close view of the Tanzanian peak. Some Kenyans funnily claim the peak is in Kenya. Just grab a map and though the colonial Brits screwed up many borderlines when they carved up their colonies, the peak lies in Tanzania.

A tiny park, not the wildest of all parks, some bad guides/drivers but we enjoyed many wildlife actions on top of the landscapes. Kilimanjaro is a shy mountain but we managed some good sighting over the 3 days.

A sunrise, a spectacular viewing even with the slight atmospheric veil.

This is the secondary peak, sometimes showing snow after a storm, like the daily storms these days.

A bit later, the orange hue disappeared.

The park is quite flat, made of swamps mostly. So Karine and I were keen to include animals in that glorious landscape.

A superb last minute ray of light at sunset.

Another sunrise. One of those (many) days when I’m glad I have got that great Nikon lens, a super wide 12-24mm, here at 12mm.